Performance And Style Of Kuchipudi Dance In English

Performance And Style Of Kuchipudi Dance In English

Kuchipudi

• Kuchipudi is a famous dance form of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous all over South India.
• The dance derives its name from the village of Kuchipudi in Divi taluk of Krishna district, where Brahmins practiced this traditional dance.
• Traditionally, Kuchipudi dance was originally performed only by men and that too only by men from the Brahmin community.
• These Brahmin families were called Bhagavatthalu of Kuchipudi. The first group of Bhagavathalu Brahmins of Kuchipudi was formed around 1559 Vikramabad.
• Their programs were dedicated to the gods. According to popular legend, the work of redefining Kuchipudi dance was done by a Krishna-devotee saint named Siddhendra Yogi.
• Eminent gurus such as Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana, Chinta Krishna Murthy and Tadepalli Peraya enriched the dance by including women.
• Fifteen Brahmin families of Kuchipudi have carried on the tradition for more than five centuries.

Performances

• The dance is performed in a special traditional way. After the traditional worship on the stage, each artist enters the stage and introduces his character through a special rhythmic composition Dharavu.
• After the introduction of the characters and setting the mood and perspective of the drama, the main drama begins.
• The ornaments worn by the dancers are traditional, made from a special type of light wood called burugu, a tradition dating back to about the 17th century.

Style

• Bharata Muni, who composed the Natya Shastra, offers an explanation of many aspects of this type of dance.
• Later, in the 13th century, Siddhendra Yogi gave it the form of a different distinctive style.
• It is believed that he was well versed in Natyashastra and adapted some special Natyashastra elements to this dance form. He composed a Natyavali named Parijatharanam.
• The current style of dance is based on a few standard texts. The most prominent of these are “Abhinaya Darpan” and “Bharatarnav” composed by Nandikeshwar.

Lead Artist

• Lakshmi Narayan Shastri
• Raja And Radha Reddy
• Yamini Krishnamurthy
• Yamini Reddy
• Kaushalya Reddy